Description

Written by Joan Benson, one of the champions of clavichord performance in the 20th century, Clavichord for Beginners is an exceptional method book for both practitioners and enthusiasts. In addition to detailing the historical origins of the instrument and the evolution of keyboard technique, the book describes the proper method for practicing fingering and articulation and emphasizes the importance of touch and sensitivity at the keyboard. A CD featuring Benson in performance and a DVD of interviews and lessons accompany the book, illustrating important exercises for the beginner. The discs also include discussions on topics that range from 16th-century keyboard masters to the frontiers of electronic music research.

Author Bio

Joan Benson has performed throughout the world, garnering respect of classical music enthusiasts and major contemporary composers. Her advocacy of modern Western music led her to Olivier Messiaen’s class at the Paris Conservatoire, to the University of Utrecht Institute of Sonology, and to Stanford’s Center for computer Research in Music and Acoustics. She has taught on the faculty at Stanford University, the University of Oregon, and the Aston Magna Academy in Massachusetts.

Reviews

"Beginners, and keyboard players from other disciplines, will profit immensely from Benson's detailed analysis of clavichord touch; the dynamic variation in her own playing, particularly her enviable pianissimos, is the best advertisement for it. The publication as a whole should appeal to a much wider public, however, as a visual and audio document of a notable twentieth-century pioneer of the clavichord revival." —British Clavichord Society Newsletter

"Ms. Benson provides an extremely methodical primer for beginning clavichordists, starting with the easiest fingerings and progressing to the most difficult. She invites us to delight ourselves with the tactile elements of playing and truly makes the touches come to life on the printed page." —Carole Terry, performer and pedagogue

"If pianists learned to play on the clavichord, they would be much more careful with the kind of sound they produce on the modern piano. The clavichord is my best teacher because it makes me listen very carefully. The sound is so delicate and the touch so sensitive, it shows all my shortcomings immediately. The clavichord also helps me play Bach without the sustaining pedal of the modern piano. I would make clavichord practice compulsory for all pianists." —András Schiff, Grammy award-winning classical pianist and recipient of the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize

"Clavichord for Beginners is the product of lifelong dedication and research by the world’s leading expert on clavichord playing and teaching. This amazing book offers a wealth of information not only for beginners, but also for experienced music lovers. Compared to the revival of other historical keyboard instruments in the past century, the clavichord has suffered a Cinderella fate. May this book contribute to the recognition of this soulful instrument as a worthy princess!" —Paul Badura-Skoda, pianist of worldwide reputation

Customer Reviews

Table of Contents

Introduction1. Clavichord for all KeyboardistsWhat is a Clavichord?Clavichord for Keyboard BeginnersFor HarpsichordistsFor Players of Early PianoFor Modern PianistsFor OrganistsFor Singing ClavichordistsA Personal Note for Aspiring Clavichordists2. Preparing to PlayWays of RelaxingTouch AwarenessFinger Awareness, SeatedFinger Interaction, SeatedExercise For Finger IndependenceExercise For Flexible WristsGetting to Know Your ClavichordPosition at the KeyboardControl of Tone and Pitch3. Clavichord Lessons Series ILesson One: Lowering a Key SoundlesslyLesson Two: Making a SoundLesson Three: Playing Two Notes in a RowLesson Four: Including a Raised KeyLesson Five: Bach’s Cantabile TouchLesson Six: Producing a Cantabile (Singing) SoundLesson Seven: Cantabile with Fingers 4 and 5Lesson Eight: Cantabile With the ThumbLesson Nine: Cantabile on two Successive NotesLesson Ten: Playing Five Notes in a RowLesson Eleven: TimingLesson Twelve: Five Finger Exercise4. Clavichord Lessons, Series IILesson One: Degrees of SoftnessLesson Two: Degrees of LoudnessLesson Three: Crescendo and Diminuendo on Five NotesLesson Four: Contrast in Dynamics, Two HandsLesson Five: Articulation on Single NotesLesson Six: Articulation on Two NotesLesson Seven: Leaping with one FingerLesson Eight: Playing IntervalsLesson Nine: For a Flexible ThumbLesson Ten: The Makings of a Scale5. Preparing for Pieces6. Eleven Easy Pieces7. Exploring the Past: 15th Through 17th Centuries8. Exploring the Past: Eighteenth-Century Germany9. Exploring the Present and FutureSelected BibliographyExtended bibliographyIndexAbout the Author